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Nexus 5 – Opinions

Published 2013/11/14 by Vinod

I’ve been using a Nexus 5 for nearly a week now. Guess that is good enough time to assess the phone more realistically. Must admit that I bought the Nexus 5 on a whim. Somehow Google has made the Nexus launches/bulild-ups attractive enough to pony up some money – every year. So this is my 3rd Nexus after the ADP1 and the Nexus 4.

I’ll try to answer some of the questions that were asked over at Twitter/in-person to me:-

Is it worth upgrading to Nexus 5 from a Nexus 4 ?

I’m tempted to say – Yes. Because the display is much more vivid, text rendering-superb and battery life is much improved over Nexus 4. That’s some 3.5 hours of screen-on-time for above-average usage with stock kernel. Granted you are the true-blue Nexus enthusiast who tries custom-kernel-tweaks, ‘Greenifies’ apps and employs some smart radio switching – expect some impressive 5.5 hours of screen-on-time. It is definitely not ‘speedier’ than Nexus 4 on regular apps usage. At least, I could not perceive improvements in that department.

Do I like the Camera?

No. I don’t. It takes better pictures than the Galaxy S3. Sharper and much better colours in general. Low light pictures turned out surprisingly good. HDR+ mode really works – adding incredible details to scenic shots under great sunlight. Still I don’t like the camera, because, you may have already guessed it by now, the software SUCKS. This Camera needs full ~3 seconds to even start up from the cold. Add a second or two with HDR+ enabled. If you are used to burst modes and faster time between shots, be prepared to be thoroughly disappointed. Despite what Google makes you believe through their ‘moments’ oriented ads, Nexus 5 will pretty much guarantee you a lot of “missed moments”. Third party camera apps can’t do a better job either on Nexus 5. This would need a low-level tweak up by Google themselves.

The width of this phone is perfect. Weight minimal and balanced across. The ceramic buttons has sharper edges. People will begin doubting your personal hygiene once they notice the dirty back of the phone. I’ve a black Nexus 5 and it highlights fingerprints, coffee/tea stains and sweat. I should have said “magnifies” in lieu of “highlights”. I may probably be getting a d-Brand decal as a saviour. Speakers are good enough for occasional Youtube playbacks. Since the speaker is positioned at the bottom left, it is much easier to ‘cup’ it and direct the sound towards you.

How is KitKat on Nexus 5 and What are my favourite apps?

KitKat is a refined Jellybean. But the Google Experience Launcher and Google Now improvements are not important for me. I prefer Nova launcher beta and a home screen layout that has been ‘customized and ‘learned’ to suit my needs over past many years. Google Now still need to show me strong reasons to keep it despite being a battery-drainer. Here is a list containing my current apps:-

7 Comments

Great review mate! (I came here from the XDA thread). Also good job of listing the apps you use, and I love your comments! :D I’m going to review the N5 about a week after I get it too, and I’ve taken a few editorial tips from this, thanks for reviewing the device!

I wonder about one thing though: ES File Explorer is a root explorer, has support for Windows Sambashare and has a built-in FTP server. But I’m sure you already know about all that, curious why you’re not using it.

Haha, makes sense. If there’s one complaint I have with ES it’s that it’s not truly a Holo app, which can be a little unintuitive at times. And thumbnail support aint that great. But hey, it’s free and has the SMB share and FTP features, zipping and unzipping (with password support) built-in, things I can’t live without :)